165
This will totally work.
(hexbear.net)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2024
165 points (100.0% liked)
chapotraphouse
13545 readers
613 users here now
Banned? DM Wmill to appeal.
No anti-nautilism posts. See: Eco-fascism Primer
Gossip posts go in c/gossip. Don't post low-hanging fruit here after it gets removed from c/gossip
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
It is simply the free market in action. Police officers selectively enforce the laws that generate maximum revenue for the department, thus ensuring they can buy more landmine-proof trucks. It sounds like licensing infractions are not big ticket items in Houston.
Defund government agencies -> agencies now have to prioritize which things get done because they don’t have the staff -> agencies prioritize the highest yield efforts to ensure the lights stay on. Repeat cycle.
This is a problem beyond just the police. It’s how politicians (mainly Republicans) undermine laws and regulations they don’t like, without having to succeed in repealing them. The free market aspect is just a layer on top of this.
I think with police it's not defunding - no police departments were defunded in the USA, like two had their funding reduced for less than a year before getting it increased over the previous level. My perception is that the police are actively refusing to do most of their jobs now because they're still upset about BLM and the realization that most people don't really like or respect them.
True. I agree the specific case of police probably is not caused by shrinking budgets. Just adding in some context that, often, a focus on maximizing revenue is not solely due to market ideology. In fact, total net revenue may decrease even if the agency increases in % ‘profit’ (annual net revenue ÷ annual budget). The political motive for reducing the budget may not be in making the agency more efficient, but in fact undermining the agency as a whole, to force eventual abolishment or privatization.